Couple sue county, Lake Transit over Mount Konocti bus tours

KELSEYVILLE -- A couple who own property on Konocti Road sued the county and the Lake Transit Authority (LTA) this week because of the pilot bus-tour program at Mount Konocti County Park.

"The county and LTA's joint venture has overburdened and exceed the scope of the easement rights of the county," the plaintiffs' attorney, Thomas S. Brigham, wrote in a complaint filed Tuesday in Lake County Superior Court.

The county and LTA partnered this year to offer docent-led bus tours on select Saturdays in September through November, providing people access up the mountain for a fee. County officials planned to assess the pilot program afterward.

Michael Fowler and Emily Ford allege the tours violate the grant of easement between them and the county for use of the road running through their orchard and near their house, according to the complaint.

County Counsel Anita Grant declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday.

Fowler and Ford want the court to find, in part, that the "LTA has no easement rights or other rights to use the easement road and that defendant county's easement does not include the right to conduct bus tours or purportedly license others to conduct bus tours," according to the complaint.

They also ask for "judgment quieting plaintiffs' title against any claims of defendants that they have the right to use the road easement to conduct bus tours," an injunction preventing the tours, attorney fees and court costs.

In addition to the county and LTA, the complaint named as defendants "all persons unknown, claiming any legal or equitable right, title, estate, lien, or interest in the property adverse to plaintiffs' title, and Does 1 through 100."

Brigham wrote that when known, the identities of the people referred to as "Doe" would be stated in an amended complaint.

Attorneys for the defendants have not filed any responses, according to court records. A court date has not been set.

The three-hour tours arose out of the county's desire to address accessibility issues with Mount Konocti park, which opened to the public in 2011. Tickets for the bus trips sold out in 10 days, and there is a waiting list of more than 40 people.

Fowler owned land that the county purchased and turned into the park.

He and Ford spoke out against the bus tours when the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) considered the concept earlier this year. They argued the vision for the park was always non-motorized.

"There are so many things wrong with this proposal, it's hard for me to know where to begin," Fowler told the supervisors in May. "I feel like this is a slap in the face to all the effort that I went through to try to have this land preserved the way that was originally intended."

The BOS gave staff the go-ahead to work with LTA to develop the program in late June. District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing dissented in the 4-1 vote.

The bus tours allowed access for people physically incapable of completing the roughly six-mile hike, but the rides were open to anyone for $16.

Public Services Director Caroline Chavez said she believed the final sets of tours would occur as scheduled Nov. 10 and 17, depending on weather and road conditions.

Her department also developed a plan to realign Konocti Road to avoid the Fowler/Ford property. About 75 to 80 percent of the new road would sit on county land and the rest would be on a different private parcel.

The Lake County Planning Commission found the realignment project was in conformity with the county's general plan on Oct. 25.

Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com. Follow him on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh.